[9] Meyler joined Sunderland on 25 July 2008 for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £250,000 which has risen close to £500,000 after appearances and his first Republic of Ireland senior call-up.

[citation needed] He became their third summer signing and followed the footsteps of former Cork City teammate Roy O'Donovan by moving to the Stadium of Light.

[10] However, it was not until a year and a half after joining Sunderland that Meyler made his first professional appearance for the club, starting against Blackburn Rovers on 28 December 2009.

In his third appearance for Sunderland, at Portsmouth on 9 February 2010, Meyler received a straight red card just minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.

[citation needed] Meyler continued to be eased back to fitness by Sunderland in the 2011–12 season, playing in several reserve fixtures before making a cameo substitute appearance in the 2–2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on 1 October 2011.

Meyler made his first start of the season at Stoke City on 4 February, and was involved in controversy when Robert Huth received a straight red card for a challenge on him.

[19] Meyler was involved in a touchline scuffle on 1 March 2014 with Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew, who headbutted him.

[20] Eight days later, after scoring in a 3–0 FA Cup quarter-final win against former team Sunderland, Meyler headbutted the corner flag to mock the incident.

[21] On 13 April 2014, he scored Hull's fifth goal in their 5–3 FA Cup semi-final victory against Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium.

He had been called up to the squad as a replacement for Darron Gibson who took a break from international football following Ireland's disappointing Euro 2012 campaign.